Garrosh was born on the orcish homeworld of Draenor, and grew up untainted by the demonic blood that twisted the orcs who invaded Azeroth. Though he wasn't demonically influenced himself, Garrosh was haunted by his family's legacy: his father, Grom Hellscream, was the first orc to embrace corruption by drinking the blood of the pit lord Mannoroth. Garrosh lived in the shadow of his father's acts until he met Warchief Thrall, founder of the renewed Horde, who explained to the younger Hellscream how Grom ultimately gave his life to lift the demonic blood-curse, and freed his race from servitude to dark forces.

Uplifted, Garrosh joined Thrall in Azeroth and quickly became a hero of the Horde by leading a successful offensive against the Lich King. When Deathwing shattered the world, Thrall was forced to leave his throne to stop the destruction, and left Garrosh as his successor. Looking for ways to gather more resources and new territory for his people, Hellscream has initiated several brutal strikes against the Alliance, razing the city of Theramore and later clashing over the continent of Pandaria. As warchief, Garrosh's controversial actions have exposed the Horde to great scrutiny from outside--and within--his faction. With this increased scrutiny comes a greater danger of dissension and retaliation than the Horde has ever faced before.[1]

As time went by, Garrosh grew increasingly focused upon victory over the Alliance, and the goal of conquering all of Azeroth in the name of the Horde. As the other leaders of the Horde began to dispute his decisions, Garrosh became obsessed with the total destruction of the Alliance and all that was weak, eventually seeking out even the dark powers of the remnants of an Old God, scarring the sacred Vale of Eternal Blossoms in the process. Following his attempt to assassinate Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear trolls, the leaders of the other Horde races began to slowly turn against him, at first in secret, and later in open rebellion against Garrosh and his Kor'kron elite. Eventually the rebelling leaders of the Horde joined forces with the Alliance to assault Orgrimmar, and with their combined forces managed to overthrow the tyrant.

After his defeat, Garrosh was transferred to the Temple of the White Tiger where a trial would be conducted for his fate. Before the verdict was given, Garrosh was given a chance to speak. Just as Garrosh was about to admit his regrets, he stunned the room but shouting he regret nothing and would do it all over again. Kairozdormu, who had been tinkering with the Vision of Time during all of this, created a portal that allowed him and Garrosh to escape to an alternate Draenor, 35 years in the past.

Garrosh and Kairoz eventually made their way to Nagrand, the land of the Warsong clan. The plan was to locate the alternate counterpart of Garrosh's father, Grom Hellscream, and rally the orc clans into a different kind of Horde. But Kairoz did not intend to stop there; he intended to use the shards of the Vision of Time to find his way into many other worlds, and find other Hordes to send back to Azeroth, believing that this would give him infinite power. However, after learning that the shard would be able to take him back to Azeroth of his present time, Garrosh took the shard and stabbed Kairoz to death with it, declaring that orcs would never be used as pawns again.

Traveling to a nearby Warsong encampment, Garrosh came forward as a stranger with no clan, but claimed his heart was Warsong. Speaking boldly, he declared that he had come to prevent the Warsongs from becoming slaves, and declared that Grom would have led them willingly to such a fate. As a result for this insult, Garrosh was subjected to a Mak'Rogahn, a "duel of will", to prove his honor by fighting against four members of the Warsong clan who were supposed to be on guard duty and had failed to spot him. Garrosh defeated his opponents, with the spectators commenting that the stranger fought like Hellscream. Following Grom into his tent, Garrosh spoke vaguely about the fate that awaited the orcish people, that Gul'dan would enslave their race to unseen masters by offering them a "gift", and that Grom would be the first to take it because he could not tolerate another taking it first. Revealing the shard from the Vision of Time, Garrosh described the kinds of weapons he had used as Warchief of the Horde on Azeroth, including mana bombs and iron stars. He called on Grom to rally the other orcish clans against their true enemy, and suggested taking the shard to the Stones of Prophecy to show the Warsong chieftain the truth of his words. Grom cautiously agreed, threatening to take Garrosh's head if he was lying; Garrosh replied that if he could not convince Grom of his sincerity, his life meant nothing.

Gul'dan sent a message to the orcs promising them untold power. Gul'dan told Garrosh that in three days the orcs would drink from Mannoroth's blood on a mountaintop and from there march to victory. Garrosh lowered his hood, revealing his identity, and told Gul'dan that in three days Grommash will stand on the mountain as well and lead the orcs to embrace their true fate.

On the fateful day when the orcs where poised to drink the blood of Mannoroth and become slaves to the Burning Legion, Garrosh accompanied his father to confront Gul'dan and give the warlock the Warsong clan's answer to his offer of power. However in this universe, Grom rejected Gul'dan's encouragement to drink the blood, and Garrosh coordinated an ambush on the warlock and Mannoroth himself using the orcs' new technology. Garrosh's Iron Star was launched at Mannoroth, distracting him for long enough to allow Grom to execute the demon. Garrosh pushed his father out the way of Mannoroth's dying explosion, saving Grom from the fate that felled him in the prime timeline. Pulling a stunned Gul'dan to his feet, Garrosh then drew a fel-bloodied Gorehowl from the demon's corpse and tossed it to his father, who proclaimed their victory and independence – as conquerors, never slaves - to the gathered masses. This pivotal moment was all that Garrosh's interference in the timeline had led to, and thus the Iron Horde came to be.

Garrosh was personally responsible for the Ironmarch's invasion of Azeroth. He ordered Zaela to claim Upper Blackrock Spire as the forward base of the invading force, where a doomsday weapon capable of making Blackrock Mountain erupt and subsequently destroy large swaths of the continent - including Stormwind - was to be built.

The pair clashed at the Stones of Prophecy—the site where Garrosh had first learned of his father's redemption. As the pair traded blows, Garrosh argued that everything he did was for the Horde; Thrall replied that Garrosh "failed the Horde." In fury, Garrosh attacked Thrall with his bare hands, yelling that Thrall made him Warchief. "You left me to pick up your pieces! You failed ME!" Having the upper hand, Garrosh remarked that Thrall "never had the strength of a true warrior." Thrall replied that his strength was not as a warrior, but as a shaman, and called upon the elements to lash out against Garrosh. Tightly bound by the elements, Garrosh roared that Thrall has made him what he was; Thrall responded that Garrosh had chosen his own destiny. At Thrall's command, a single bolt of lightning ended Garrosh's life.

Garrosh Hellscream, son of the legendary Grommash Hellscream, discovered his self-worth under the guiding hand of Thrall, a master of the elements and powerful shaman. As part of Thrall’s Horde, Garrosh proved himself a terrifying warrior and an outstanding war leader. As Warchief of the Horde, his meteoric rise and tragic descent into despotism and hunger for power marked the path of a complex figure: an uncertain orc, out of his element and trying to live up to his father’s legacy. Garrosh sought to bring honor, glory, and prosperity to his people, but, for him, good intentions only paved a path of destruction.

Over the years, Grommash’s son rose to prominence within the Mag’har clan in Outland, and was eventually invited by Thrall to the orcish capital city of Orgrimmar in Azeroth to become one of his advisors. While in the Horde capital, Garrosh learned that the orcs were surviving in Orgrimmar, but not thriving as he felt that they should. He couldn’t understand why Thrall made choices that seemed more concerned with atoning for the past and preserving peace, rather than doing whatever was necessary to attend to the present needs of his people. Similarly, he questioned why Thrall was not exerting the full might of the Horde to eliminate its foes and simply take what was needed by force. This conflict steeled Garrosh’s resolve to restore the true glory of Orgrimmar and ensure the prosperity of the orcish people, no matter what—or who—lay in his path.

Certainly, Garrosh came to see the Alliance as unequivocal enemies of the Horde, and a primary obstacle barring the Horde’s ascent from suffering to true prosperity. The Alliance stymied the Horde at every turn by contesting for resources, raiding its settlements, and killing its people. It was obvious to Garrosh that the clear path forward was to destroy the Alliance and fully secure Kalimdor’s land and resources for the Horde.

As a plague of undeath broke out across Azeroth, marking the return of the undead Scourge to all of Azeroth’s people, Garrosh was named Overlord of the Warsong Offensive, to lead the main army of the Horde’s expedition to Northrend, the land that the undead invasion stemmed from and domain of the Lich King. Garrosh was aggressive and brutal in his tactics, bordering on reckless. He warred on the Alliance nearly as often as he did against the Lich King’s undead minions. Still, there was no question that Garrosh was a talented war leader, and the Horde armies returned from Northrend flush with victory after defeating the Lich King’s forces.

Garrosh’s triumphant return to Orgrimmar was cause for a great celebration, and Thrall bestowed Grommash’s axe, Gorehowl, on him to honor his victories against the Scourge. All was not well in Orgrimmar, however. For reasons that were not yet understood, the spirits of the elements had become unruly and violent, disrupting crucial supply routes and straining the resources of the already taxed Horde capital.

The chaos among the elemental spirits was intensifying to such a degree that Orgrimmar itself was assaulted by fire and earth elementals, and the whole of Azeroth was threatened. Thrall realized that the matter was rapidly growing out of control and resolved to travel to Nagrand to consult with the wise shaman who lived there in search of a solution.

As Garrosh remained the only orc with the necessary stature and popularity among the orcs to make a suitable interim Warchief, Thrall summoned him to Grommash Hold and handed over temporary leadership of the Horde. The move caught Garrosh by surprise. He was proud of his battle prowess, but a stranger to the games involved with politics and negotiation. He warned Thrall of his reservations, but Thrall dismissed them, assuring Garrosh that he would have the full support of advisors such as the mighty tauren high chieftain, Cairne Bloodhoof. Resolved to do what was best for the Horde, Garrosh accepted the leadership role.

For a time, Cairne and Garrosh worked well together, but that was not to last. Certain that Garrosh’s reckless brutality was too dangerous, Cairne challenged Garrosh to a ritual duel for the right to lead the Horde. It would prove to be exactly the kind of opportunity that the tauren Grimtotem Matriarch, Magatha Grimtotem, had been waiting for, and she secretly poisoned Gorehowl prior to the duel. It was a titanic battle, and while of advanced age, Cairne was an experienced and powerful combatant. As he gained the upper hand, Garrosh made a desperate swing that shattered Cairne’s weapon and scored a shallow cut across Cairne’s chest. Cairne faltered as Magatha’s potent venom ran through his veins, and Garrosh seized the opportunity to strike the killing blow. Just as his axe was poisoned, this episode would taint Garrosh’s tenure as Warchief, and portend the poisoned relationship between Garrosh and the leaders of the other races that make up the Horde.

Garrosh would continue to prioritize what he perceived as the welfare of the Horde over diplomacy or political maneuvering, even within his own faction. Garrosh expanded his campaign against the Alliance, initiating conflicts across the face of Kalimdor. With a series of attacks and strategic maneuvers, Garrosh arranged for a number of the Alliance’s finest military minds to be concentrated in Theramore. Once that was achieved, he did the unthinkable— ordered a mana-bomb, a weapon of immense destructive potential, to be detonated on the Alliance outpost. Its effects were devastating, and the city was left a smoking crater. While the attack on Theramore was a major military victory, the Horde’s non-orc members were horrified by Garrosh’s actions. The attack’s ultimate result was a fractious and vulnerable Horde, leaving some of its members distrustful and resentful of Garrosh’s leadership and on the verge of rebellion. Sensing the growing unease within his faction, Garrosh dealt with the budding insurrection in the way he knew best—blunt brutality. He made it clear that any member of the Horde who was not willing to assist in the war effort against the Alliance was a traitor, and would face the wrath of his elite Kor’kron enforcers. To make matters worse, the events at Theramore did not crush the Alliance’s spirit as Garrosh had intended, but instead forged an Alliance united in purpose and dedicated to the Horde’s defeat as never before.

No hope for diplomatic solutions remained, and the Alliance was now embroiled in a full scale war with the Horde. With the discovery of Pandaria, Garrosh’s forces would clash with the Alliance to no end. Garrosh however was unaware that Pandaria had a secret—the Sha. These creatures, born from the demise of the old godY’Sharrj, are the physical embodiment of negative emotions such as anger, pride, and hatred. Rather than see the dangers inherent in the Sha, or how war was only strengthening them, Garrosh instead was certain that they were a power that he could harness. Garrosh wanted to forge the Horde into a weapon that could decisively control Azeroth once and for all. Impatient with dissent, his reign over the Horde became totally despotic, and his quest to wield the might of the Sha lead him to commit one atrocity after another. He ordered the troll leader Vol’jin assassinated, though the attempt was unsuccessful, and rang the Divine Bell, an artifact that turned his own loyal soldiers into Sha infested horrors. He cracked down, labeled the entire Darkspear tribe of trolls traitors in the wake of Vol’jin’s “assassination”, and ordered many non-orcs in Orgrimmar to be rounded up and imprisoned or executed.

Garrosh’s actions triggered a full scale revolt, called the Darkspear Rebellion, within the dissident members of the Horde. Led by Vol’jin, and with the aid of the Alliance, they rose up against him. Undeterred, Garrosh was still determined to harness the power of Pandaria’s darkest beings, and he submerged the Heart of Y’shaarj within a sacred pool in one of Pandaria’s holiest places. The dark power of the Heart reacted with the sacred pool, causing a surge of powerful Sha energy to destroy and corrupt the surrounding area. With the Heart now energized, and Horde rebels, pandaren, and the Alliance arrayed against him, Garrosh prepared himself to face all comers within the fortified Underhold he had constructed beneath Orgrimmar. Garrosh was not afraid. He had built the Horde into a fearsome war machine and still had many loyal soldiers. Now he was filled with forbidden and unfathomable power. He was determined to emerge triumphant against his adversaries and, with the power of the Sha at his command, return to bend Azeroth to his will and ensure the final victory of his ‘true’ Horde.[2]

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